Inshor Classic Open 2008
After hosting the inaugural Redfish Action Challenge series of tournaments out of Harkers Island earlier this season, Capt. Lee Willis decided to host a final event further south. Hence, he created the Inshore Classic Open, held out of Wrightsville Beach Marina on Saturday, Oct. 3.
Scaling a pair of red drum weighing 14.54 lbs., Capts. Jeff Cronk and Mike Taylor, of Team NC Charter Fishing, took first place in the event. Their 7.60 lb. big fish also earned second in the tournament’s big fish TWT.
After checking out just before 7:00 on tournament morning, Cronk and Taylor headed north up the ICW, along with many of the other boats in the event, and went out New River Inlet to target a large school of reds that had been feeding between New River and Bogue Inlets.
“We went out New River and only had to run a few minutes before we saw them,” Cronk reported. “Then it was just on fire. We had 1000-2000 fish right at the boat.”
The captains stuck with the school over the course of the day, along with a number of recreational boats and several other participants from the Inshore Classic Open.
“We had probably 8 recreational boats out there with us,” Cronk explained. “Even though it was a calm day with less than 5 mile per hour winds, all of us in the tournament had some waves break in the boat, and I think some of those other boats got half-filled with water and in trouble. This definitely isn’t the type of fishing I’d recommend people just go out and try on their own-it can be dangerous.”
Using Berkely Gulp shrimp, pogies, topwater plugs, and other lures, Cronk and Taylor experienced virtually nonstop action as the day progressed.
“It didn’t matter what you threw at them. The biggest thing was just trying to get through the breakers and to the fish,” Cronk said. “We probably culled 100 or more fish with 10 or more between 26-27″.”
Using a balance beam in order to tell which fish were heavier proved vital to the team’s win.
“It’s tough to tell a lot of times,” continued Cronk. “We weighed in a 26.5″ fish that ended up being the 7.60, and a 27″ fish that was a little lighter.”
The NC Charter Fishing captains wished to thank Ranger Boats, Collins, Inc., Berkeley, Dudley’s Marina, Crystal Coast Graphics, Sea Lake Products, and AB Surf Shop for their sponsorship.
Finishing second with a pair of reds weighing 14.18 lbs. were Capt. Jot Owens and Jeremiah Heironymous, fishing as Team Pflueger. The anglers’ 7.69 lb. big fish also topped the TWT, and they fished the same school of reds the winners did.
Also fishing the beachfront school were Capt. Rennie Clark and Andrew Arndt, of the R and D team, who weighed in two fish at 14.14 lbs. to finish third.
The tournament’s Top Junior Angler was Christian Wolfe, on the Seahawk fishing team, who weighed in a 5.01 lb. red.
Tournament Director Lee Willis wished to express his gratitude to sponsors Ranger Boats, Tex’s Tackle, Food Lion, Bill Slaughter, West Marine Wrightsville Beach, and Sleep Inn of Wilmington.
